Deep-fry

Soaked, dried chickpeas, blended with a flurry of herbs and spices, are key to the best homemade falafel.

The egg-enriched buttermilk mixture makes for an especially crunchy and craggy coating. This recipe is from Buxton Hall, one of the Hot 10, America’s Best New Restaurants 2016.

How do you make fried shrimp better? By adding giardiniera to the mix. Here the duo gets coated in a vodka-spiked batter to create a remarkably crisp exterior.

The best fried catfish starts like fried chicken, with a seasoned buttermilk soak. Once fried to a golden brown crisp, serve with ketchup and this pickle-studded rémoulade.

Golden lentil dumplings dunked in creamy yogurt and topped with chaat masala.

This is a labor of love that will make other people love you, which is reason enough to give this recipe a try.

A combination of beer and vodka keeps the masa and rice flour batter on these swordfish pieces ultralight and delightfully crisp.

Extra juicy and very crunchy, these thick-cut breaded pork chops are an impressive dinner option served with a crisp pickled-fennel salad.

Meet Chris Morocco’s ideal chicken sandwich—with dill mayo, sweet pickles, shredded lettuce, and a squishy bun.

This chicken is juicy, tender, and never ever dry—thanks to the tannins in black tea, plus a sneaky pinch of baking soda.

Yes, the convivial festival favorite can be recreated at home. This one’s even more fun with a ginger-tinged glaze and a shower of pulverized berries.

Buttermilk-soaked catfish gets superlatively crispy thanks to a rice-flour dredge, a tasty nod to both Juneteenth and Black fish-fry food traditions.

For the best fried green tomatoes, swap cornmeal for a crispy panko crust, then serve with a creamy sauce or tuck them into a pimento cheese sandwich.

This East African snack is fluffy, crispy, and mildly sweet—like the best parts of French beignets and American old-fashioned doughnuts combined into one bite.

An herbaceous hot sauce buttermilk soak and cornstarch-flour dredge are the keys to this juicy, flavor-packed fried chicken.

Crispy bite-size chicken and chewy rice cakes are made downright irresistible with a sticky, sweet, garlicky glaze. 

Small, snack-size peach pies with a jammy sweet center and flaky crust are fried to golden goodness for a perfect personal dessert

This sufganiyot recipe delivers golden brown pillowy doughnuts filled with strawberry jam. Make them on Hanukkah—or anytime you want to impress your guests.

The prep work for this recipe for homemade mozzarella sticks can be done in advance; plus the cook time’s short, making them great for game day—or anytime.

This recipe produces shatteringly crisp tempura each and every time.

Free up your oven and make the case for crispy, crunchy, sage and thyme-y fried chicken this Thanksgiving.

A 5-ingredient batter that fries up light, airy, and potato-chip crisp. Your new go-to for everything from calamari to onion rings to kale chips.

Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, this irresistible summer eggplant (and its tangy dipping sauce!) will have you going back for more.

These crunchy tenders will give you tortilla chip vibes in the best way (and they just so happen to be gluten-free).